Desperation
by FullmetalAlchemistWriter
Summary: After Alphonse nearly gets his soul destroyed, Ed takes drastic measures to protect his little brother to cope with the close call, no matter the destructive consequence to himself.
1. Vulnerable

**New story! Like a breath of fresh air really...hope you enjoy! This is a play on the episode of Scar's first attack on Edward and Alphonse btw**

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Metal was everywhere, it seemed endless as the glint of the cold pieces bellowed through the air and landed with a loud clank. That was Al's body, and yet, as Ed lay there in a daze he could not understand how that was Als body that had just been blown to bits by Scar, whom was now walking towards him. A large piece of Alphonses head piece fell in front of him, and yet Ed could not seem to put two and two together, the taste of his own blood was flooding his senses more than anything so he focused on that- if only to stay in the moment. He felt a lingering presence as he heard a gunshot, "Havoc?"

"Come on chief, can you stand?" Havoc made quick work at checking Ed's vitals and quickly lugged the stunned teen out of arms reach from Scar.

"Al…Al….he did something to him- I saw pieces." Ed tried desperately to put his own words together, he knew something obviously was not right but the large bruise now developing on the back of his head made it impossible for any rational thought to be thought of.

Havoc nervously scratched the back of his head as he looked over and saw the left over chunks of Al, "Ed…I…"

"Is he ok?" Hughes interrupted as he and Roy walked up to the dazed teen.

"Al….Al…was blown up- disassembled by alchemy…Al…symbol…the mark. The mark! Shit! He has to have his mark!" Ed tried to get up and run but ended up tripping over his own feet in the process, resulting in the teen falling to his knees. He tried three more times until he had enough momentum to get to the alley way the fight was in and land right in front of the mess. "Al…AL!" Panic filled Eds mind as he desperately went through pieces of metal to find the metal scrap with the blood rune on it. Sure enough, there it was, as Ed clapped with a hopeful ring and set his hands on the metal, Al came back together smoothly.

"B-brother…who was that? Are you ok?! I told you to run brother! Why didn't you?" Al's glowing red eyes stared, concerned as Ed's eyes began to well up with tears.

"He almost got you Al, h-he…scar, its just like Nina, he blew you up. H-he disassembled you and could have easily killed your soul right then and there." Ed hugged Al, knowing his brother could not feel it but hoping the sentiment would mean enough, it certainly did to him atleast.

"Brother, its ok, we have both had some close calls! That's just part of it…more importantly, are you ok? You seem dizzy…"

Ed's face then got red, "no Alphonse, it's not right! I took this Godforsaken job, I took this responsibility, I made this mistake, you don't need to suffer because of that."

A brisk 'ahem' was heard, the two young brothers looked up from where they were sitting against the buildings wall to find Mustang looking down at them, his facial expression was unreadable. "Sorry to break up this…touching moment, but would you two please follow us? We need to get out of the streets, Scar could be anywhere under the city now and I rather him not try anything else today."

"Of course Colonel, come on brother- Ed!" Alphonse called out desperately as he watched his brother quickly run out of the alleyway and into the maze of houses ahead. As he made a move to follow, Mustang stopped him, "If you can convince him to go to the hospital, do it. If not, just watch him and make him drink plenty of water."

Seeing the suit of armor nod slightly then run off, Hughes got a chill down his spine. "Roy what in the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

Mustang smiled as Hughes neared him, "there just kids- dogs of the military now, but even so…just children."

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Brother! There you are, I was hoping you would come back here." Al closed the dorm rooms door as he came and sat beside the rooms only bed, Ed was slumped over and leaning heavily against the head board, Al covered him with the nearest blanket and sighed. "the colonel said you should go to the hospital…but I know you aren't going to do that and so did he- so I have to make sure you drink plenty and get some rest."

"I'm sorry Al."

"Ed, I told you its ok, what is there to be sorry about?"

"This." A slight ring resonated throughout the barren hallways of the military dorms as Alphonse's torso, arms and legs all disconnected from their rightful joints. "B-brother! What-"

"You can't get hurt and risk your life anymore Al…they can bring me back from near death- but if that one tiny spot gets hit on your armor? It's all over Alphonse, and I'm not letting this situation ever happen again. I'm going to find the stone and restore you faster than ever. I promise."

Alphonse felt a sense of dread rush over him as his older brother carefully placed every part of him behind the military issued bed, no one ever came to the military dorms except newbies, he would never be found at this rate. Edward knew that all too well he assumed.

"Everything will be ok Al." Edward made a move towards the door, "I think I have a lead, I'm going to follow it Al, and hopefully when I get back I will have the answer."

"Brother please- rest atleast! Brother!" Alphonse called desperately, he was unable to move, unable to help- all he could do was scream but as he heard the dorm rooms door close he realized he was helpless.

Edward never looked back as he stomped down the hallway and towards the military's library, he had no leads, but to leave Al in that state with no hope- it was hard enough. He wouldn't go back until he had atleast something to go off of, only then could he face Al. And so Ed stayed in the library, from dusk to dawn delving deeper into the lost secrets of the stone but to no avail, he was not getting anywhere. His head was also pounding at this point, to the point where the words on the pages infront of him mashed together making reading further impossible.

"I can't get Al back to normal this way…someone else has got to know about this! But who? …Scar might…that tattoo on his arm and all that crazy talk he was spitting- hes got to know something. All I have to do is get in a general area he's in and he will come right to me…I need to be prepared because getting beat up is not an option, I have to beat him to get answers."

"Time to take a field trip." Ed smirked as he threw his red coat on, packing a few books with him. His vision suddenly shifted as he neared the door causing him to drop some of the heavier books he was carrying. Thankfully few people were in the library as they all gave Ed questioning glares. Ed quickly exited the building and slumped on a massive pillar directly in front of the libraries exit, the morning sun was starting to cast a soft glow to the dimming city lights and walkways. He knew he had a concussion, everything was spinning, he had them enough to know the symptoms were clear and possibly as severe as they ever had been.

"Oh well." Ed muttered, his health was now last priority as he tried to walk without swaying. His heart and soul were on fire despite his shitty physical situation, an obsessed glaze seemed to create a fine film on his tired golden eyes. It was the look of a desperate man running towards their last hope, all the years of searching and failing to find the answer finally had caught up with Ed. He needed to end this once and for all, for Al.

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 **Annddd cue obsessive manic Fullmetal! Oh the messes that are sure to ensue! Read and Review please! It helps me make better stories this way!**


	2. A Step Back

As Ed trudged towards Colonel Mustangs office he let his thoughts drift a bit, he knew this was a bit insane, he knew it was not completely rational- but even so…he needed this. Ed needed this more than anything, he needed a win. He was tired of seeing flashbacks of his mother, Shou Tucker, Barry the chopper, Nina, and now Al… he wanted something new, something not terrifying. He had drawn the line as soon as Alphonse got dismantled and almost destroyed. It was as if all the tension in his mind knotted together and gave way to the current situation he was in, desperate and out of control.

It was ethier this or giving up completely and the latter was not ever going to be acceptable as long as Al's soul still lived. This was almost a death wish in itself, but Ed had what he didn't have only a day ago when he fought Scar- determination. He had plenty of that now, manic, rage filled determination was coursing through his veins and it showed no signs of stopping. He just needed to remain confident enough infront of the adults to get what he needed.

Kelvar, para-armid synthetic fiber, stronger than steel and much lighter. With this material Ed could transmute layers of the light material around his body- he took mental notes as he was fighting Scar. One was the very fact that while Scar could in fact deconstruct anything he layed that damed right hand on- he could only do this deconstruction a layer at a time. Just like normal alchemy, the alchemist could only accomplish so much in the material, or lack of material, given. So, if Sin had to destroy layer by layer then this would give him atleast a little lead way to hopefully defeat the Ishvalen.

He knew the plan was not full proof, especially considering the entire strategy of him getting enough material to make a layered heavy- duty suit with it. Luckily, the military had plenty on hand. Of course there was a catch though, Ed had already thought of a piss poor excuse as to why he needed so much of the stuff, he only hoped Mustang would give the ok.

"Absolutley not." Said a shrugging Mustang, Ed boiled as he tried to keep his calm, "What do you mean?! I need this for my brother! You saw him! He almost got completely killed out there with his flimsy armor!"

Mustang set his pen down and set his chin over his folded hands, glaring at Ed. "So you mean to tell me that you need fifty pounds worth of Kevlar? 1,000 dollars worth of military issued Kevlar- for Al? I wasn't born yesterday Ed. And while we are at it- you look like hell, I don't know how you managed to talk Al out of dragging your ass to the hospital but its obvious you are not ok."

Ed rolled his eyes, "Forget I asked, It would be easier to make my own heavy duty material then to hear you talk all day."

As Ed neared the door a certain white glove with a fire alchemist stitching quickly closed it back before Ed could even think about escaping. "I know a lot of bad things have been happening lately but the last thing you need to be doing is making impulsive decisions. If I had to guess you are in the middle of one right now, right?"

Ed growled, he was pissed that his plans were that transparent. "I'm just trying to prepare for another attack, that bastard Scar almost killed my brother. Naturally im just trying to protect Al and myself, nothing more and nothing less. Ok? Can I go now?"

Mustang leaned against the door heavily, Ed now giving up his hold on the doorknob and taking a few steps back, "you can go on one condition, I'm going to walk you to the nurse and you will behave and do exactly what they say for you to do. That means, if you need to go to the hospital then so be it, if you need to get three days of rest then so be it, understood?"

Ed sighed, "Why do you even care? Its obvious I haven't died yet and its been a day since all that bullshit, I'm fine."

"Well, if you are truly fine then you should have nothing to worry about, right?"

Ed glared at the mocking Colonels skeptical gaze, "right."

"Then let's go."

There was no room for argument as Roy closely lead Edward down the hall and directly up the stairwell to the nurse's office. A petite young nurse greeted them politely and had Ed lay back on one of two hospital beds in the large room, she pulled the curtains and requested the boy put on a gown instead. "I will be right back! I'm going to try to find the nurse director to give him a check up."

Taking notice of the open window directly beside Edwards bed, Mustang opted to take a seat in the small cushioned chair directly infront of the window facing the hospital bed.

"Um, do you mind? I need to change, pervert."

"I wont look, just wanted to sit and take in the scenery from this open window that you could escape from."

Ed glared daggers at the back of Mustangs head as he changed, "whatever, colonel pervert."

It was not even 15 seconds later Mustang sighed, "you change like a girl! Hurry up already! I didn't really want to have to explain to the hot nurse as to why I had to sit back here while you changed."

"Psh, not my problem but im done."

Mustang turned back around to find that Ed had already folded his clothes neatly and tucked his gown around him so that it was impossible for an article of it to fall off and expose him. He smirked a bit as the curtains were abruptly drawn causing Ed to jump halfway out of the bed.

"Oh! I'm sorry Mr. Elric! I didn't mean to scare you, the director will be here very shortly. How are you feeling?"

Ed growled, "I'm fine, and aren't you a nurse? Cant we just get this over with now?"

Seeing the nurses eyes water a bit Mustang took the opportunity to his advantage, "Edward! Do not speak like that, this young lady is only trying to help so it would be in your best intrest to sit there patiently and answer her questions."

Ed looked down at the ground, his face now a slight red as he muttered an apology.

The nurse giggled a bit and sent Mustang a thankful glance, Ed saw the exchange and held back a sigh, how was it that Mustang had alternative motives even in unpredicted situations? The man was good, Ed had to give him that.

"I feel fine." Ed mummered, putting an end to whatever intimate moment the colonel and nurse was having in that moment.

"I see…so why did your superior take time to specially walk you here? There must be a reason, your jaw is slightly bruised as well, were you involved in any fights recently?"

Ed sighed, "I was in a small fight yesterday, the guy got a lucky shot is all."

Mustang stared unbelievably towards Ed, "did you just lie and hoped I would go along with it? If you are going to act like a child then I will treat you like one Fullmetal. Ma'am, this young _boy_ has been involved in a serious fight with the same man that has killed more than seven state alchemist thus far throughout the city. He might have a concussion, from just the few seconds I saw."

The woman gasped, "you were lucky to get away with your life young man! This sounds like no small fight, and I'd have to assume that the 'lucky shot' was actually a beating, correct?"

Ed seemed to be deflating more and more under the oversized hospital gown as the nurse and colonel talked about what really happened, Roy simply told her everything he witnessed and what he had assumed happened before he arrived. "He was laying on the ground and completely out of it, it took several of my men to simply drag him over to the sidelines."

The two finally looked down at him with questionable glances, he assumed they wanted him to spill his guts but Ed was dedicated to not doing so. Luckily, a large nurse walked in, she already looked as if Ed had somehow pissed her off already that day.

"What seems to be the problem?" She said, already looking bored with the whole situation.

"Ma'am, this young man has actually fought with Scar- he isn't being honest with his injuries though…his superior made him come and has told what little he knows of the situation."

The woman nodded and sighed, "can I have a moment with the young lad, please?"

Mustang looked hesitant but as he got a better glimpse of the young nurse passing him, his mind seemed to miraculously clear making Ed hate him just a little more. As the door shut, Ed looked up at the intimidating nurse, he was surprised to see her sit down and gently fold her hands in her lap. "So he made you come, huh? Kinda shitty."

Ed let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, "It is…I feel fine, really!"

The nurse laughed a bit, "Well kid, I'll be honest, ya look like hell. Look, how about you let me asses you and, unless its life threatening, I won't send ya to the hospital. At worse I will give you some minor pain medications and bandages, alright?"

Ed was hesitant but he quietly nodded, satisfied with the deal at hand.

"Alright, now just hold still." It was only five minutes later and the nurse had a full diagnosis, "Luckily you managed to only have a few slightly nasty gashes- but you do have a moderate concussion so for the sake of all of us, take it easy and try to stay close to people you trust. The last thing you need to be doing is passing out during a mission, try to take a break for atleast a day, alright?"

Ed smiled slightly, "I think I can handle that." Shortly after changing, Ed slammed the door open to the hallway, Mustang looked up, not even surprised. "So whats the verdict?"

Ed handed him a slip that the nurse gave him, Mustang smirked, "they didn't trust you enough to just tell me that you need two days of paid leave?"

He glared at the smirking man, "I guess not- they are smart because I wouldn't have told you shit, can I go now? I have material to make, material that you won't let me simply borrow from the military."

Mustang sighed, the military be damned he supposed, "you have permission to use the material but please take what you need and just that- you also have to make a twenty page report on why you need it. Good luck bullshitting that."

Ed frowned, "Psh...not worth my time...you can keep your stupid military material, I can probably make better anyways."

Mustang rolled his eyes unbelievably, "just take it easy, squirt. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon for your late report from last month...and yesterday."

"Ugh, cant you just file it away? It doesn't need to be kept."

"You don't think the Shou Tucker incident or yesterday was a problem that needs to be filed extensively?" Mustang hardly doubted Ed thought such, he knew the boy was just trying to avoid the pain of it all once again. Any other time the colonel would in fact just file it away, especially if it meant causing Fullmetal further mental harm- but this was important and Mustang had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn't got the whole story in the vauge report.

"Yeah…whatever, I'll be there." Ed sighed as he turned, already making plans to catch Scar and fix things the instant he stepped foot outside of this God-forsaken building. Nothing would slow him down, nothing would get in his way and-

"And bring Alphonse too."

Ed's blood went cold at that, there was no way. "Al…went back to Resembol." Mustang watched as Ed turned back towards him, his sharp features now unsure as his face contorted into something akin to discomfort as he continued, "he needed a break…I think the Nina incident reminded him too much of mom. He went to go visit her."

It seemed almost painful to watch the teen talk at this point, so Mustang held his hands up, "very well, then I trust you to be completely detailed and honest then."

Ed nodded, a sharp stab could be felt in his heart as he turned again. "Where are you Scar…" He mumbled quietly as he stomped down the stairs and out the exit of the building.

Mustang stayed right where he was, peering outside the hallways window and looking down to see Ed exiting, his walk was still unstable and every so often Mustang could see the teen falter a bit. As if the kid didn't know how to walk in a single second of time, then he would catch himself and begin the process again. "Something isn't right…"

The colonel prided himself in knowing his subordinates on a personal level, this insured understanding and most importantly- predictability. But as Roy Mustang watched Edward stumble his way to a materials shop, he hadn't a single clue what was actually going on. The stories simply didn't match up- if Ed was trying to get material for Al then why in the hell would he be worrying about it now if Al was hours away? And just why would the boy let his brother leave his side this one rare time? Especially after the almost deadly incident that had happened merely a day ago? "Something isn't right…" Mustang huffed, "And I'm putting a stop to it this instant."

As the glass from the window blanketed around the colonel though, he suddenly had other problems in mind.


	3. Hesitant Revenge

**Short chapter! Apologies, also, I promise the build up wont seem as sudden then it seems to be in this chapter!**

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It's funny how shit can go from bad to worse in a single second, that was Roy's single thought as a tattooed hand was holding him up by his military collar. "Scar…" Roy grunted as he struggled for breath. He didn't know why but something in that moment compelled him to look over, out the window to see Ed, whom was by now running towards the building.

Mustang stopped struggling in that instant, confusing Scar. "Have you decided to give in to God's fate?"

Roy smirked, "not exactly." One snap was all it took to separate the two men, Scar cried out as the small burst of flame singed a hole into his shirt. Mustang backed up several steps in the open hallway, Ed charging up the stairwell directly behind him.

"Get out of here Ed I got hi-"

"Yea fucking right!"

Mustang was borderline horrified as he watched Ed charge mindlessly towards Scar, no plans of attack, no fancy armor that he had planned on using, just blind rage.

"Fullmetal!"

A single ringing was heard as Ed clapped and slammed his hands on the floor below him, Scar was enveloped by the transmuted concrete from both the floors and walls. Ed didn't give him a chance to react as he transmuted every molecule of wood from the hall around the concrete, then glass, then any other material he could conjure up from the seemingly bland hall. Once the materials were formed around Scar, Ed began to compress each layer to form an even smaller ball of material.

Mustang was surprised to hear Scar cry out but quickly realized what was happening, Ed had made so many layers of material in so little of time around the man that he hadn't had enough time to deconstruct each layer of material yet. Thus, Ed compressed the materials around him causing no oxygen to get in. Mustangs stomach dropped at that. "Fullmetal…let him have some breathing room."

Ed looked back from his spot in front of the large ball of materials, he was transmuting several components of oxygen out of the center of the ball and Roy could clearly tell as fresh air seeped from the material.

"You are not a murder. I order you to let him go!" Upon the lack of response Mustang put a hand on Ed's shoulder in frustration, Ed's head snapped towards him, the golden orbs were glazed with sheer hatred.

"I'm not letting him go."

Any other time this type of situation would have ended sooner than it started, but of course this was Fullmetal, a child that only knew what he wanted in the here and now. He wasn't going to give up easily, "I'm sorry Ed."

A single crack was heard as Mustang brought his hand down to the back of Ed's neck, causing the boy to immediately pass out. Mustang caught the boy before he could get a chance to fall to the ground, he sat Ed against the nearest wall and stood patiently as Scar recovered and began to deconstruct the materials.

Once each layer was finally deconstructed, a massive pile of debris fell upon the once clean floors of the hallway. Mustang glared at the man as Scar caught his breath.

"That child, how old is he?" asked Scar.

"He is only 12."

Scars face seemed to contort into that of disgust, "to think an army of powerful men would let a child join the ranks of murder and sin…it disgusts me and it cannot be overlooked. Therefore, this child must die before he completely taints his chances of going to where he belongs."

"I don't think so!" A single snap was all Mustang needed to get Scar to look away from his young subordinate. "You have to fight me to get to him, I assure you it's never going to be that easy to get close to this child as long as I live."

"…Very well then."

Mustang hardly blinked before he realized Scar was charging towards him, as he readied himself to dodge and snap once more, time stopped.

Scar made a muffled gasp as a massive projectile launched itself from the ground directly in front of him, it impaled the man right through the center of his stomach. He stood there, shocked and unable to move as the object stayed where it was. Finally, he deconstructed it, once the gory support holding him up was gone he fell to the ground and curled in on himself as blood pooled around him.

Mustang looked over at Ed in disbelief, "Fullmetal…you…"

Ed looked at his hands in utter fascination, as if it were the first time he had ever transmuted a single thing. His breathing started to hitch as reality encircled him, he was a shaking mess as he leaned heavily against the wall from his place on the floor. His tired eyes raising from his shaking hands in frint of his face to the man bleeding on the ground just feet away.

"Nurse! We need you out here now!" Mustang set to work on making Scar stay still, his stare everynow and then retreating behind him to make sure Ed stayed where he was.

"What…are you doing?" Scar said through gritted teeth.

"Saving you, I just want a conversation with you. Although I am pissed you have killed some of our top alchemist I am also curious as to why you think this vendetta is worth it. I realize your Ishvalen…and I hope you realize I also committed many sins in that war- but my fucking 12 year old subordinate did not. I've never seen him try to actively kill, so if you don't want to "taint" him then I suggest you stay away and reconsider what you really trying to accomplish. Because next time I will not hesitate to burn you to a fucking crisp." Mustang backed away as he said this, his glare towards Scar never faltering as the man quietly let the nurse clean and wrap his wound.

"Sir…y-you really shouldn't get up! I-"

"Thank you." Scar mumbled as he struggled to stand and limp towards the stairs, It sickened Mustang as Scar never took his sights off Ed as he left. Roy watched Scar stumble outside and quietly wondered if he should have let the man leave, he did in fact murder many people and yet- just this once, Roy let it go. If only because his past sins seemed to justify Scars unquenching wrath. Soon Scar was far out of Mustangs sight, leaving him to turn and quickly catch a fainting Ed.

"Fullmetal? Hey!"

The small young nurse rushed over and assessed the shaking boy, "he's in the middle of a full blown panic attack…it is probably from shock. Has he ever…killed?" The nurse asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

"No. Not like that, he's never done this."

The nurse hummed in response and stood, "I think you are the most fit to get him to calm down, I also should advise that he needs to be watched after such a traumatic fight, Colonel. He is still a child at the end of the day."

Roy nodded, the nurse leaving him to hold the shaking subordinate down softly. He positioned Ed to where the boys head now lay on his lap. "Fullmetal..Ed..it's over now- he didn't die."

Ed's face contorted into an expression of confusion as he tried to make a coherent sentence. "h-how could I? I didn't mean to…I did mean to…I'm- I'm sorry."

Mustang placed a hesitant hand on the boy's forehead, much like a father would to a fearful toddler. "Edward, it's alright now. He didn't die, the situation just got out of hand, it happens. I know you would never kill a man."

Mustangs stare faltered as the once small pupils he was staring into turned into tear struck golden orbs, Ed's eyes filled to the brim with tears as they spilled over and ran down his face, only to drip onto the Colonels uniform.

"I wanted to kill him- I wanted him dead Mustang. He needed to die but then- I stabbed him right then and there and all of the sudden I just…I don't know what I want anymore." Ed let out a sob as he brought his quaking hands just above his face, they were soiled with dirt from the transmutation and Scars blood that had somehow made tiny specks amongst the greyed young hands.

"I-I don't know anymore…I don't know…I'm so fucking tired…"

Hearing this seemed to alarm the colonel as his stare slightly widened, 'where is this coming from?' The Colonel thought briefly, 'is he…suicidal? If so he really hasn't given indication until now…it would make sense though. Another failure to save a life, another close call with death and not to mention another dead end with the stone…shit the kid is only 12 years old and he's lived a full life. Of course that's going to take a toll on him- but Ed? Not Ed…'

"Fullmetal, what do you mean by that?"

Edward shook his head, the golden locks of hair from his loosened braid fell a bit as he shook his head again and again. Tears seemed to be in endless supply as the boy sobbed a second time. "I'm just being stupid…need to get back to Al."

That statement also seemed to set the man on edge, "I thought you said he was away for a while?" Roy felt Ed tense up as he asked.

"I need to go…"

Feeling the boy try to get up Mustang quickly held his arms down, "Edward, explain."

"I'm going to need a ticket to Resmbool asap…I need to see my brother."

This seemed to ease Mustang's mind as he sighed, "very well…it will be good to take a break for a while. You need to rest…do you think going home will help that?"

Ed let out a reassuring chuckle, "h-have you seen where I live? If I can't relax there then there is no hope in trying to ever relax."

Mustang seemed pleased with the answer as he let the boy slowly sit up. "Let me help you up." Roy reached out a hand as Ed steadied himself enough to rise and stand, he swayed a bit and used the nearest wall to remain up and alert. Black dots clouded his vision as he fell forward, "Wow! Hey! Alright…let's get the nurse and you can lay in the medical bay. I'll go get your things from the dorms and get you the next ticket out, alright?"

Ed wanted to protest, to fight, but all he could handle was a shaky nod as a new plan bloomed in his mind.

As the nurse rushed out of the medical bay to help Roy carry Ed to the nearest bed, the cogs in Edward Elric's brain seemed to turn at a quick pace as he saw Mustang leave. He would have to escape before the colonel found out the truth, and he would have to be quick to follow out with the rest of his new plan.


	4. Search

"Mr. Elric is there anything you need? I'm going to return shortly, I must run a few errands around the hospital complex."

Edward simply shook his head, the young nurse was hesitant to leave the sad sight but decided the Colonel would not be long and left the boy by himself.

"This is my chance." Ed mumbled as he stood, he shook a bit but soon got his footing, once he did he made quick work of exiting the building and getting to a secluded part of town. Once there Ed set to work on finding the nearest phone booth.

He shut the phone booth door and slid down the nearest corner as he tried to catch his breath. "What the hell is wrong with me?" Shaking his head from any more oncoming panic he quickly picked up the phone and dialed in one of very few numbers he knew.

"Russell? I have some stuff to send to you, it's very critical that you accept and read the letter I have attached carefully, ok?"

The other end of the phone was silent for a few moments but a confused voice that was in fact Russell Tringhams, former imposter that pretended to be the Elric brothers with his little brothers help, answered, "ok…are you alright Edward? Something sounds off."

Ed snapped, "Please just read my letter carefully when it comes, alright? Please do that for me!" He quickly hung up and immediately felt bad. He knew everything he was doing in this moment was wrong but he felt he couldn't stop himself now as he headed towards his assigned military post office.

Pulling a small envelope Ed wrote on the inside flap: 30216738 – his military bank account number.

He then put a small sheet of paper in the envelope saying: Please use every cent of this to further your research and find a cure for Al. My notes and findings will all be found with Al. Please never leave his side.'

It was short and painfully uninformative, but that was all Edward Elrics minds could comprehend, after putting the mail in proper order and away Ed finally found himself at the stair case of one of the first places he could think of that changed everything after losing his leg and arm. Shaou Tuckers home, the first life he thought he could save- and didn't. Nina.

Meanwhile…

Mustang scoffed at the mundane festures of the military dorms, trying not to reflect on his own times he was forced to take his own shelter there. After finding the appropriate number Mustang smirked as he noticed the location of the dorm was far from any other, he figured this was a 'special request' made by Edward, typical.

The room was as Mustang expected as he entered, everything was in perfect order save for the lone desk beside fullmetals desk which was brimming with crumbled paper balls and ancient open books. What he didn't predict was the large metal torso of Alphonse's suit to be laid against the small desk, "Alphonse?"

A audible gasp was heard leading mustang to circle the bed and peer down at a lone metal head on a pillow on the cold ground. "Alphonse! What the hell?" Roy made quick work of placing Al's head back on his body, "What the hell happened?" Mustang growled as he gathered one heavy leg after the other and helped Al.

"Thank you so much colonel…brother disassembled me and left me here knowing no one would bother to look here."

"He told me you were in Resembool visiting…lying little shit. I presume this adds to the reason he has been so irrational lately."

"P-please tell me he hasn't tried to go after him yet…I have only seen brother in this mood once before- right before we made the attempt of human transmutation. Nothing would stand in his way of that goal, no setback, nothing. No matter how much the statistics and facts would beat him down he would just recklessly barrel through them…with me right by his side to help."

Mustang rubbed his face in frustration, "he came to me wanting permission to acquire material for an armor he claimed he was going to make for you for further protection. This was after I forced him to go get a check up because he was so out of sorts…after this they let him go only if he had a day of rest. As soon as he left the clinic though Scar attacked and Ed…well…he wasn't thinking straight, he nearly killed Scar."

"He's not Ed right now Colonel…brother is so stubborn all the time but this is different. I have only had to see this once to know how destructive it is. He wants the stone- he wants all the answers now and this time there isn't a quick fix he is going after. That fact alone bothers him more than anything. The last time this happened we both nearly got killed…a-and now hes doing it alone…Colonel where is brother now?"

Mustangs stomach seemed to churn at the very question, "I left him at the clinic to get some rest. The only reason I came here was to get his stuff and get train tickets for his hometown…Alphonse, has Ed ever been suicidal? Or ever talked about dying?"

"…Only once, after we saw Nina, he wasn't himself for a while, he was so stuck on it all. Always saying that if we couldn't save her then whats the point of having alchemy…or living at all. But it was only once that I heard him say that if I weren't here he would be dead that day…I knew exactly what he meant by that. Why do you ask?"

Mustang could hear the tension in the armors voice as he found himself staring ahead in rushed thought, "when he attacked Scar he had a panic attack afterwards…but he just said he was tired…he wouldn't elaborate on anything but I've heard that talk before and I've seen that look- you don't think he would-"

"We need to get to him now. Somethings wrong…please- we need to go."

Roys heart speed up at the sudden urgency in Alphonses voice, he knew the brothers were very close and he had witnessed their strange connection more than once, it was enough to convince him that leaving Ed with little to no supervision right now was deadly. And as both he and Al quickly made their way back to where he left Ed, he had a sinking feeling.

Al quickly opened the entrance to the building, trying to hold himself back from breaking out into a full on run to his brother, Roy was the exact same as his face paled when he saw one of the nurses pass him. "Excuse me."

"Oh! Colonel Mustang! Don't worry, I made sure Edward was all taken care of before I went to go run some errands, he should be resting upstairs!"

The surprised faces and blurs of pictures on the walls were all Mustang remembered as he and Al made a mad dash for the small nurse clinic, Alphonse rushed through the small door only to collapse on his metal knees. Mustang wanted to do the same at the sight of the empty hospital bed, but instead he made his way towards the nearest phone in the room and proceeded to call Hawkeye whom was filling in for him at the office till he returned.

"Hawkeye, I need an emergency search party to be set on every perimeter of the city ASAP."

"Sir? What's happened?"

"Just tell everyone that Edward Elric is of highest priority at this moment." With that Mustang hung up, not wanting to fully grasp how severe this situation truly was. He didn't want to believe that Ed was capable of such a thing, he was only a child at the end of the day. But children didn't go through things that Ed and Alphonse had gone through recently, Mustang supposed it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

Thirty minutes later Roy found himself planted at his desk with Alphonse and Riza by his side, all of them peering at a full map of the city. There were seven pegs located at end of the map symbolizing the five man search parties that were currently investigating/searching there.

A sudden knock on Mustangs office door jolted each of the three up, "come in." Mustang called.

"Roy."

"Any luck?"

"Not yet, we have units on every sector of the city so it should be a matter of minutes until we hear atleast some whereabout of the kid. Do you know anywhere he would have gone? Any detail would help make the search a little more specific."

Mustang thought on that, looking to Alphonse for any help as well.

"It sounds awful but if brother were to do anything I really don't have a clue. I-I wish I did but…"

"Is there any place that holds any significant value to either of you here in city limits?"

"The only places I know of that hold any memories are the ones we always try to avoid entirely."

Hughes pulled a small notebook out of his military jackets pocket. "Do you mind listing those for me? We might as well go as a unit too, its not going to hurt to try.

"Sure...we always avoid the alleyway that Scar attacked us in, laboratory 5 and Shou Tuckers house...those are the only three I can really think of, sorry...I should know more! I'm Ed's brother, I'm with him all the time but I cant even predict where he would even go in his darkest times..."

Hughes placed a comforting hand on alphonses forearm, "don't be too tough on yourself, in your defense this seems very out of character for Ed. When people get like this they are usually highly unpredictable. We'll find him."

Mustang frowned a bit at that last statement, 'We'll find him alright…but in what condition?'


End file.
